Kenyan social entrepreneur Dr. Kennedy Odede wins 2025 UN Nelson Mandela Prize

Dr. Kennedy Odede, a prominent social entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), has been awarded the prestigious 2025 UN Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela prize for his life changing services to the communities across Kenya. In a historic ceremony held at the United Nations general assembly hall in New York as part of the Nelson Mandela International Day commemorations The prize awarded after every five years, was first awarded in 2015, this honour recognises two individuals, one male and female, who are not from the same geographical region, and whose live embodies Nelson Mandela enduring legacy, of reconciliation, political transition, and social transformation and guided by the principle of UN. During an interview with the Africa Renewal, he emphasised that the award will bring hope to organization across Africa. "I was pleasantly surprised! Mandela is someone I admired deeply. For the UN to recognise an organisation like SHOFCO-it's amazing! The Mandela Prize is awarded every five years, so being a recipient is no joke! For us, it is a big deal, and it gives hope to other community organisations across Africa that their work matters," he noted. Dr. Odede makes history for becoming the first Kenyan man to receive this honour, sharing the accolade with Brenda Reynolds of Salteaux first nation and Canada. Born in Kibera one of the largest Africa informal settings, he knew the struggles that come with residing in slums. His initiative SHOFCO, seeks to address community challenges through various courses such as access of health community, community advocacy platform, education and sustainable livelihoods program. He highlighted SHOFCO impact, noting the organization has supported over 10,000 girls through education programs, trained 1.5 million youth in leadership skills, employed over 2,000 staff across 35 counties, created 180,000 job opportunities for young people. Additionally, Odede shared that through SHOFCO SACCO, the organization has disbursed more than Sh1.2 billion in microloans to support small businesses. To date, SHOFCO's initiatives have reached over 4 million people, a milestone he aims to expand further in the coming years. With great contribution of Dr. Odede to the society, he has gained several accolades in his timeline including the TIMES 100 most influential.

Kenyan social entrepreneur Dr. Kennedy Odede wins 2025 UN Nelson Mandela Prize

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Related Topics

Similar Articles

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Similar Articles

Legal battle brews over new tea levy, directorship

For Africa to move forward, Africans must be allowed to cross borders

Global housing crisis deepens despite policy gains - UN warns

Mbadi names Adan Mohamed as new KRA chief

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Kenyan social entrepreneur Dr. Kennedy Odede wins 2025 UN Nelson Mandela Prize

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Related Topics

Similar Articles

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS